RELEASE DATE: 9/13/10

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Mansfield football host Cornell Saturday in 10th Annual Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic to open 2010 season

MANSFIELD – The 2010 Mansfield University sprint football team will open its second season as a full-time member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL) this Saturday when the Mountaineers host Cornell University in the 10th annual Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic.

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. at Karl Van Norman Field. Admission is $5 for adults and $3 for students aged 5-18. Mansfield University students are admitted with their university ID. The game will also be broadcast live on the internet at GoMounties.com with live stats also available at GoMounties.com.

Sprint football is considered by many as the most exciting level of varsity collegiate football in the nation. Sprint is exactly the same as any NCAA Division I, II, or III football with the exception of a 172 pound weight limit on players 48 hours prior to a game.

Mansfield, which led the league in attendance in each of its first two seasons, expects a large turnout for the game.

The opener also marks the 10th Annual Josh Palmer Pigskin Classic. Proceeds from t-shirt and raffle sales prior to the game are donated to the Josh Palmer Fund which assists area youth afflicted by cancer. T-shirts are available for $10 at the front gate with raffle tickets for more than 30 items including collegiate and professional memorabilia, major college game tickets and autographed items are available for $2 each.
Mansfield won last year's Palmer Pigskin Classic with a 33-0 victory over Princeton.

Josh Palmer was a member of the Mansfield University football team who overcame Hodgkin 's disease to return to the gridiron as a player and a coach. He started the fund while undergoing cancer treatment and the fund has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars over the past 10 years. Palmer is currently an assistant coach at Southside High School.

Mansfield will be looking to improve on the 2-5 overall record it posted in its first full season as a member of the Collegiate Sprint Football League (CSFL). Other members of the league include Army, Cornell University, Navy, the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University. Post University of Connecticut will participate as a probationary member of the CSFL this season playing a limited schedule. Navy posted a perfect 7-0 mark last season to capture the CSFL title.

Under the direction of head coach Dan Davis, the Mountaineers have made some impressive strides over their first two seasons, but will still field a lineup that is made up primarily of underclassmen.

“We've got some very solid veterans returning,” said Davis. “But were still a very young team that will need to rely on underclassmen.”

“We're getting there, slowly but surely, but the rest of the programs in the league have been around for 50 years or more. I know that eventually we're going to get to their level.”

For the most part, Mansfield fielded a solid defense last year but a very young and inexperienced offensive unit struggled at times to establish and maintain drives. While he expects the team as a whole to be improved, Davis still sees the defense ahead of the offense coming into the season opener.

“We have more veterans and more playmakers on defense right now,” reports Davis. “But we're making steady progress on offense. We're young so were going to get better with the more playing experience we have.”

The strength of the defense starts on the front line and features two All-CSFL selections from last year in junior Cody Croasdale (Nicholson/ Lackawanna Trail) and sophomore Paul Houseknecht who combined for 51 tackles including 10 for a loss. Also returning on the defensive line is 2009 sack leader Justin DiMatteo and Matt Maciejewski who appeared in five games with nine tackles last season.

Senior Paul Frederick will move from fullback to defensive end this year and the line will have additional depth in freshmen Doug Bauer and Brian Fosko.

The linebacker corps will be anchored by senior Solomon Isom and Eli Morgan. Isom played just five quarters last season before suffering a season ending knee injury and should be a large fixture in the middle. Morgan broke into the starting lineup last season having an interception, recovered fumble and broke up two passes. Sophomore Anthony Mazzone started all seven games last season and finished second on the team in total tackles with 33. Other returning linebackers include Kevin Baker and Damon Chalk while freshman Jake Myers adds depth.

Sophomore Trevor McHenry, who finished fifth on the team in tackles as a freshman last year, is expected to start at a stud spot with competition from freshmen Dudene Parson and Ako Sayed.

The secondary will be highlighted by veterans# Brandon Couse#, Cedric Ingram and Michael Wang, all of whom saw starting action at one point last season. Ingram and Wang tied for the team interceptions lead with two each. A promising group of newcomers in Trace Dickinson, Maurice Garrison, John Havens, Xavier Jemison, Julian Shorter, Troy Taylo and Michael Wallace will also vie for reps.

Although there are a lot of unknowns coming into the season on offense, Davis expects an improvement over last season that saw the Mountaineers held scoreless in four games.

Everything starts up front and Davis has returning experience on the front line in 2009 starters Jordan Clark, Jerred Keltz, Andrew Licwinko and Tony Rubino. Keltz and Licwinko have started in each of the past two seasons, while Clark and Rubino earned starting spots as freshmen last season. # Nick Rutherford also returns after appearing in five games as a freshman last season. There will be plenty of competition from a large group of newcomers including Jared Berken#, David Chini, Brad Netchke, Nick Rutherford, Josh Stone, Blaine Wainwright and AJ Wood.

Mansfield returns its top two quarterbacks from last season in sophomores Kode Plank and Spencer La Mountain. Plank was thrust into the starting lineup in his first collegiate game and finished the season passing for 571 yards and three touchdowns. La Mountain played more quarterback later in the season completing 10-38 for 94 yards. Both have battled for the starting spot all preseason while talented freshman Ian Smith has been slowed by injury.

Whoever wins the starting spot at quarterback will have a bevy of newcomers to throw to with no returner catching more than three passes from last season. Senior Ben Anderton presents a tall target and can also play tight end with junior Kevin Valentine, the only other returning receiver to catch a pass last season.

While the Mountaineers may be light in experience in the receiving corps, they are flush with talented newcomers in Aaron Besch, Jason Easter, Derek Fye, Jon Keller, Pat Mackewicz, Sergio Santana, Nick Sheaffer, David Wallace and Jarred Young.

Junior Desmen Johnson returns at running back where he led the team in rushing last season with 182 yards and two touchdowns. He will be joined by Jason Winters who appeared in all seven games at running back as a freshman in 2009. Also looking for carries will be newcomers Brett Kuwik and Alex Neiman. Shane McHenry will vie for time at H-back and tight end.

Freshman Ryan Lose will serve as kicker.

Cornell has been one of the premier teams in the CSFL since Mansfield first applied for admission to the league. The Big Red, which posted a 4-3 mark last year including two wins over Mansfield, return 14 starters and 29 letterwinners from last season.

Under the direction of Co-Head Coaches Terry Cullen and Bart Guccia, the Big Red offense returns six starters lead by senior quarterback Elliot Corey, but graduated its leading receivers and rusher from last season. Corey is a talented quarterback who threw for 690 yards and five touchdowns last season while running for 101 yards.

Like Mansfield, the Cornell defense is expected to be the strength of the team – at least in the early going. The defense returns eight starters led by 2nd Team All-CSFL defensive back John Mackintosh.